A response to the Committee on Climate Changes review of UK shipping emissions

The Chamber of Shipping welcomes the publication of this important review from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and agrees that shipping should not be excluded from carbon targets in the future.

The review makes clear, however, the significant difficulties in attempting to apportion emissions accurately to a single country in what is such a uniquely international trade. The Chamber has worked closely in recent months with the Committee on Climate Change to gain greater clarity on the level of emissions from the UK fleet and supports the recommendation that the UK Government should work closely with the EU to further refine this work.

The report acknowledges that there is significant scope for emissions reduction through a range of technical and operational measures. The Chamber has also strongly welcomed the advances made by the International Maritime Organization to promote the reduction of shipping's carbon emissions through technical efficiencies but believes that it will prove necessary for the industry to go further - through the adoption of economic (or 'market-based') measures to meet governments' expectations and targets. To that end the Chamber has recently published papers outlining how two of such measures could be implemented for global shipping.

The Chamber believes, however, that the introduction of any such measures must be done globally through the International Maritime Organization rather than through any regional solution that will only serve to distort trade and potentially damage shipping, one of the UK's most important industries, which in 2009 contributed an estimated 6.1bn to UK GDP and 760m to the UK Exchequer.

The Chamber looks forward to the CCC setting out their views on the three options outlined in this review in Spring 2012 and in the meantime will continue to work closely with the UK Government in taking this important work forward.

David Balston, Director Safety & Environment at the UK Chamber of Shipping said;

'I am very pleased that the Committee on Climate Change has involved the Chamber in producing such a well balanced and thought provoking review of shipping emissions.

"This work is hugely important and complements ground breaking work that the UK Chamber has been doing in leading and shaping the debate on how shipping can drive down carbon emissions.

"We do stress, however, that any solution must be global rather than regional to avoid distorting world trade and potentially damaging an industry that is vital to the future prosperity of the United Kingdom'.

The Review of UK Shipping Emissions will be available http://www.theccc.org.uk/reports/review-of-uk-shipping-emissions

Source: Britsih Chamber of Shipping